Massaging device



erly fit the feet, whereby the feet may be subother balls being arrangedadjacent to said first 10 jected to undue muscular tension and pressure,mentioned balls and coopera therewith to with the result thatthe nervousand circulatory provide a passage adapted to receive a foot or systemsof the feet may become affected. It is other member to be treated, andcertainof said well known, that modern footwear, as commonballs beingmounted for movement in a direction ,25 circulation throughout theentire foot. To thus sy of t O PaenedNov- 26, 40 2,223,263

UNITED STATES TE T OFFICE MASSAGING DEVICE- John W. Michaelson, Nisswa,Minng assig'nor to Miracle Massage Appliances, Inc.,Minneapolis,lvlinn.,acorporation of j 1 Application November 17, 1939, Serial N0.305,017

5 Claims. ((1128-57) This invention relates to new and useful ima floor,in readiness fbr immediate use by an in= provements in massagingdevices, and more pardividual, any time such individual may desireticularly to such a device adapted for use to mastreatment. sage thefeet. A further object isto provide an apparatus of Attempts haveheretofore been made to detheclass described, comprising a suitable sup-5 velop apparatus for massaging and treating the 'porting frame having aplurality of resilient balls feet to relieve them of burning and achingsensamounted thereon in juxtaposed relation, and tions, which may resultfrom various causes as, adapted for rotation on axes which are inclined'forexample, wearing shoeswhich do not propwith respect to one another,and a plurality of 1y worn, does not always allow ample freedom topermit enlargement of said passage against 15 for the feet, whereby thetoes may be continually the action of suitable tension means, when afoot fconfined in a more or less cramped condition, is inserted intosaid passage, whereby all of said while the shoes are worn. balls maycooperate to exert a comfortable mas- I have found that the feet may bemaintained s e ng p ssu against t t, th u que 20 in a comfortablyhealthy condition, and the rangement of certain of said balls being suchthat 20 metatarsal arch greatly strengthened, if the feet when the footis moved back and forth in said are periodically subjected to amassaging action p S d bells W l e e t a te ate lateral whereby thebones of the'metatarsus and the p n a drawing actions 011 the flesh,Which phalanges are so exercised as to stimulate blood e y Stimulatesthe nervells. and Circulatory massage and exercise the feet, it ishighlydesir- A further object is to provide a messaging able that Sllficientpressure be exerted against v e c mprisin a ui le frame h v a p the ballof the foot, during each" massaging op.. rality of resilient ballsmounted thereon in suberation, to cause the phalanges at the center ofstantially a given plane, andall of said balls being the foot to bepressed upwardly'or out of their rotatably supp d on a plurality of ed30 normal positions, in order to exercise the tissues axes'which are soarran s to Cause the balls and ligaments disposed therebetween. Suchintobe disposed in a more or less circular formatermittent treatment ofthe phalanges results tion, with the peripheri f Contiguous ba s inincreased blood circular and strengthening of contacting each other, andwhereby an opening the tissues and ligaments between the bones, as orpassage is provided between Said balls adapted 35 well as the muscles ofthe foot, To accomplish to receive, a foot 01 other member tobe'treated, the above results, it is therefore highly essentialeerteinof Said bells being yieldebly ta ned in that the massaging deviceto be used is so conposition under tension, eby Wh n a foot is structedthat sufficient pressure may be exerted inserted into Said Passage, d yd b y S pagainst the bottom of the foot to adequately exp rted balls mayyield o the pressure of the foot 40 ercise the bones of the metatarsusand the phale g i thereby to permit m nt of anges, andwherebysubstantially the entire foot the passage to accommodate t feet,and Wheremay be subjected to a more or less vigorous, yet by all of theballs will cooperate to exert pressure comf rtabl massagingaction,against the foot from substantially all sides, in

' One of the irnpprtant objects of the present, a manner to impart acomfortable, soothing, mas- 45 invention, therefore,is to provide amassaging seein action t ereon. device which is capable of treating thefeet as A further j t s t provide p e e us of above stated, with verylittle effort on therpart the @1355 described, including a groupofresilient of the patient or person using it, and which, if balls,comprising a central ball mounted for rotaperiodically used tomassage ortreat the feet, tion 011 horizontal axis, and a p of balls 50 will causethe feet to attain and maintain a mounted on inclined axes at the sidesof said healthy, comfortable condition. central ball with theirperipheries contacting the A further object of the invention is toprovide periphery of the central ball, anda second group a massagingdevice of extremely simple and inexof resilient balls being mounted oversaid first 555 pensive construction, which may be supported on group ofballs with their peripheries normally 5;

A further object is to provide a massaging de'-' vice comprising a framehaving a plurality of re silient balls mounted thereon and arranged insubstantially circular formation with the peripheries of contiguousballs contacting one another,

and whereby a passage is provided between said balls adapted to receiveafoot, and an' auxiliary ball being rotatably supported in spacedrelation to said first mentioned balls adapted to engage the bottom ofthe foot and impart a massaging actionthereto, when the foot is movedback and forth in said passage.

A'further object is to provide a massaging device which is animprovement over the form disclosed in Patent-No. 2,168,842, granted toCharles E. Kestevan and John W. Michaelson, August 8,

.Other objects of the invention reside in the simple and inexpensiveconstruction of the apparatus, whereby it may be manufactured at smallcost; in the novel arrangement of the resiliently mounted upper balls,whereby when a foot is inserted in the passage provided between thegroups of balls, all of said balls will exerta massaging pressureagainst the foot from substantially all sides. thereof; in the provisionof the auxiliary ball which engages the bottom of the foot, which is soarranged that the pressure exerted against the bottom of the foot bysaid ball, may readily be controlled by the individual using the device,by simply varying the downward pressure of the foot thereon; and, in theprovision of such a device which is so constructed that when placed upona floor, a person may readily and conveniently move the foot back andforth inthe opening defined by said resilient balls, with the bottom ofthe foot engaging said auxiliary ball, thereby massaging andmanipulating the entire foot in such a manner that the metatarsus andphalanges are so exercised as to strengthen the tissues and ligamentstherebetween, and whereby the nervous and circulatory systems of thefoot are also greatly stimulated.

Other objects of the invention will appear from th following descriptionand accompanying drawing and will be pointed .out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing there has been disclosed a. structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a plan View of a massaging device embodying my invention; I

FigureZ is a side elevation of Figure 1, partially broken away, andshowing th balls in their normal positions; v

Figure 3' is" a rear view of the device showing the circular arrangementof the resilient balls, when in-normal-posi-tion; a

Figure 4- is a sectional elevation on the line numeral 2.

4-4 of Figure 1, showing a foot positioned. between the balls; and.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view showing the action of the auxiliaryball on the bottom of the foot, during the massaging operation.

In the selected embodiment of the invention here shown, there isillustrated in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, a massaging device comprisinga main supporting frame, generally indicated by the This frame, as hereshown, is constructed of a metal rod bent upon itself to providediverging arms or side members 3-3, having cushion elements or feet 4secured to the rear ends thereof. portions of the arms or side members33,,in spaced relation.

The means for engaging and massaging the foot is shown comprising aplurality of resilient balls which are rotatably supported in the frame2; In the present instance, six balls are utilized,

,fi ve of which are arranged in circular formation .with the peripheriesof contiguous balls in direct contact with one another.

The circularly arranged group of balls, as shown in Figure 3, consistsofa center or bottom ball 6, side balls 7-! and upper balls 8--8. Thelower ball 6 is rotatably supported on a horizontally disposed axis 9,and the side balls I are similarly supported upon inclined axes ll-Il,secured to spaced arms l2, shown formed from a single piece of suitablewire or red, bent upon itself to form a loop l3, which may be secured tothe looped end M of the main supporting frame 2' by a suitable bolt orscrew l5, best shown in Figure 4., Suitable clamping plates I6 and I!are provided above andbelow the looped ends l3 and M of the arms 12 andthe main frame 2, which cooperate with the bolt i 5 to secure the partstogether. In the structure; as above described, the side balls l! are soarranged with respect to the rear center or bottom ball 6, that when thefoot is moved inone direction in said opening, the balls 6' and 1 impartalateral pulling action on the A cross member 5 retains the rear endflesh, and when moved in the opposite direction in said opening, acompression action is imparted T .to the flesh. This particularconstruction is clearly shown and described in the hereinbeforementioned patent.

A feature of thepresent invention resides the novel arrangement of theupper bal1s.8' 8. These balls, as clearly illustrated in Figures 2,. 3,

and l, aresupported upon axes l8 'which are inclined with respectto'eachother, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3, the angularrelationshipbetween said axes being such that the peripheries of theupper balls substantially contact each other. The axes l8 may be formedbya suitable rod or bolt 19-, bent at its intermediate portion andhaving itsterminals secured to'the ends. of a pair of resilient arms2lpreferably formed of a piece of spring wire; bent upon itself to providea central loop'22 whichis traversed by the bolt. Hi to secure the arms 2I to the main frame,- as .clearly shown in Figures 2 and 4. Theresilient arms 24; are preferably provided with suitable coils or loops23 which serve, in eifect, as'coil springs, to constantly exert adownward force;,on the upper balls-:B -B to normally hold them incontact with the peripheries of the side balls 1-1, as best shown inFigure 3. The balls 6, 1', and 3, when in normal positions, as shownin'Figures 2 and: 3,

are disposed in substantially circular formation,

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of anauxiliary ball 25 which is mounted forwardly of the balls 6, 1, and 8,upon a cross shaft or rod 25, the terminals of which are shown supportedin suitable loops 2! provided in the side members 3 of the main frame 2.The ball 25 is relatively harder or less resilient than the balls 6, I,and 8, and is adapted to contact the bottom of the foot, as clearlyillustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The ball 25 is rotatably supported onthe shaft 26 and is disposed forwardly of the rear center ball 6 in sucha manner that when the foot is inserted in the passage 24 and movedforwards and backwards therein, the bottom of the foot may engage theauxiliary ball 25 with suflicient pressure to upwardly press the bottomof the foot, as shown in Figure 5, and thereby displace the metatarsalbones and phalanges from their normal positions, as clearly illustratedin Figure 5. The balls 6, 1, and. 8 are preferably constructed of asoft, resilient material, such as sponge rubber, whereas the auxiliaryball 25 is of a relatively harder material or rubber;

When the device is to be used, it is preferably placed upon the floor,and the individual then inserts a foot into the passage 24 defined bythe balls 6, I; and 3. As the foot is thrust forwardly in the opening24, the upper balls 8 will yield to the pressure of the foot, as shownin Figure 4', thereby permitting the bottom of the foot to en gage theauxiliary ball 25. The foot is moved back and forth between the balls,as shown in the full and dotted lines in Figure 4, whereby the balls 6,I, and. 8 will impart a massaging action to the top, bottom, and sidesof the foot, while, at the same time, the auxiliary ball 25 will exert avery definite upward pressure against the bottom of the foot, as shownin Figure 5, whereby the bones of the foot are exercised and a massagbetween the balls thereof, with utmost ease and comfort, whetherdisposed in a sitting or stand ing position. I

As shown in Figure 4, a suitable rubber element or foot 28 may beengaged with the lower end of the bolt l5, and a secondary bolt 29 mayalso be interposed between the forward endsof the arms 2| and the lowerclamping plate l1. Adjustment of the bolt 2 9 may vary the tension inthe arms 2|.

In the'structure as herein shown and described, but one ball, such as25, is utilized, It is to be understood, however, that in some cases, itmay be deemed advisable to place another ball (not shown) forwardly ofthe auxiliary ball 25, adapted to cooperate with the latter to furthermassage and exercise the bottom of the foot. It is also to be understoodthat the balls 6, I, 8 and 25, need not necessarily be spherical inshape, as obviously their shapes may be somewhat varied withoutaffecting the efliciency of the apparatus. The main supporting frame 2may also be otherwise constructed without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A foot massaging device comprising a supporting structure having aplurality of feet, a main supporting frame on said feet, and a crossshaft mounted insaid supporting frame and approximately mid-way betweenthe feet; a pair of arms supported by said frame and the cross shaft; aplurality of resilient balls mounted for rotation on said arms; anauxiliary ball mounted on said cross shaft; resilient arms mounted fromone of said feet and extending under the cross shaft and upwardly abovesaid shaft; and a plurality of resilient balls mounted on said resilientarms, said first mentioned balls and the auxiliary ball engaging thebottom of the foot to be massaged and the last mentioned balls on theresilient arms contacting the upper portion of the foot to be massagedto facilitate and force engagement of the foot with the first mentionedand auxiliary balls.

2. A foot massaging device according to claim 1, in which the auxiliaryball is relatively harder than the other balls. v

3. A foot massaging device according to claim 1, in which means areprovided for supporting the resilient arms with spring tension from saidfoot on which the resilient arms are mounted.

4. A foot massaging device according to claim 1, in which means areprovided for the resilient arms secured to said foot on which theresilient arms are mounted to support said resilient arms with springtension, said means including a pair of clamping plates and a pair ofbolts to vary the tension in the resilient arms by adjustment of one ofthe bolts.

5. A foot massaging device comprising a supporting structure having aplurality of feet, a main supporting frame on said feet, and a crossshaft mounted in said supporting frame and approximately mid-way betweenthe feet; a pair of arms supported by said frame and the cross shaft; aplurality of resilient balls mounted for rotation on said arms; anauxiliary ball mounted onsaid cross shaft; resilient arms mounted onsaid frame at one end and extending above said shaft at the other end;and a plurality of resilient balls mountedon said resilient arms, saidfirstmentioned balls and the auxiliary ball engaging the bottom of thefoot to be massaged and the last mentioned balls on the resilient armscontacting the upper portion of the foot to be massaged to facilitateand force engagement of the foot with the first mentioned and auxiliaryballs.

JOHN W. MICHAELSON.

